The Taiwan stock market on Friday ended the three-day losing streak in which it had skidded almost 300 points or 2.9 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 10,400-point plateau, and it's expected to track higher again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is firm thanks to better than expected employment data from the United States and a jump in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.
The TSE finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares and the technology stocks.
For the day, the index climbed 42.86 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 10,398.62 after trading between 10,336.26 and 10,419.28 on turnover of 129.55 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.22 percent, while MediaTek spiked 2.96 percent, AU Optronics picked up 0.81 percent, Largan Precision jumped 1.63 percent, Innolux tumbled 1.99 percent, Asustek Computer climbed 1.89 percent, Taiwan Steel and Hon Hai Precision were unchanged, China Steel eased 0.20 percent, Yuanta Financial advanced 2.59 percent, Mega Financial shed 0.21 percent, Cathay Financial soared 1.33 percent and Fubon Financial collected 0.90 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks moved mostly higher on Friday after the release of the jobs report, lifting the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.
The Dow climbed 117.68 points or 0.49 percent to 24,329.16, while the NASDAQ rose 27.24 points or 0.40 percent to 6,840.08 and the S&P added 14.52 points or 0.55 percent to 2,651.50. For the week, the NASDAQ fell 0.1 percent, the Dow and the S&P both gained 0.4 percent,
The continued advance by stocks followed a report from the Labor Department showing stronger than expected job growth in November, while the jobless rate came in as expected.
Positive sentiment was also generated when the House and the Senate passed a stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. The bill extends government funding until December 22, allowing time to negotiate a longer-term spending bill.
Crude oil prices rose Friday amid concerns of supply disruptions from Nigeria as workers threatened to strike at a crucial production facility. WTI light sweet crude oil was up 67 cents or 1.2 percent to $57.36/bbl. Still, oil was down 1.5 percent for the week.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis